Mollusc harvest season begins in Quang Ngai

Mollusc harvesting season brings many blessings from the sea to the fishing villagers as it helps to improve their income and bond their deep connection to the ocean

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NDO – From the third lunar month ever year, fishing villages in Quang Ngai province enter the mollusc harvesting season. When the tide is receding, fishing villagers flock to the sea to harvest molluscs.

Every evening when the tide is low, Nguyen Thi Nhan, from Binh Hai commune, Binh Son district, goes to the Phuoc Thien reef to collect oysters.

Nhan uses a long chisel to remove oysters from the reef. She said that as oyster shells look like rocks, they are hard to distinguish from the reef. Therefore, it requires experience and sharp eyes to search for oysters.

1-2 nautical miles from the shore, seaweed grows in large clumps at the bottom of the deep blue sea

Nguyen Van Bui has to dive 4 to 7 meters deep into the sea in order to farm seaweed, which grows on the surface of rock and coral.

When the weather is calm with no waves, Bui can collect 1 - 1.5 tonnes of fresh seaweed a day and only 0.3-0.6 tonnes when the tide is rising

While men are diving to collect seaweed, their wives wait around the shores to support their husbands.

They can earn from VND700,000 – VND1 million per working day.

A woman takes a rest under a temporary shack to hide from the scorching sun of early summer, waiting for her husband, who is harvesting seaweed.